Dia: The Broken Kilometer

The Broken Kilometer is a permanent art installation by Walter De Maria, located in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. Presented by the Dia Art Foundation, the piece consists of 500 highly polished solid brass rods, each two meters long and arranged in five rows of 100 rods. This minimalist work is notable for its meticulously increasing spacing between each rod, which creates a dramatic visual rhythm across the gallery floor. The installation was inaugurated in 1979 and serves as a companion piece to De Maria's Vertical Earth Kilometer in Kassel, Germany. Admission to The Broken Kilometer is free, with visiting hours from Wednesday to Sunday at its West Broadway location.